Development expands grocery, apartment options for Jasper Avenue

A Jasper Avenue development nearing completion is poised to expand the supply of two commodities that have been scarce in recent years downtown — grocery retailing and rental accommodation.
Planet Organic Market plans to move from its current, much-smaller location to the mixed-use project next door at Jasper Avenue and 122nd Street.

Planet Organic Market is opening a much larger location on Jasper Avenue while a residential tower above will provide 207 rental units. The development should help with demand for food stores in the area and for new, quality rental apartments, says developer John Day. Shaughn Butts / Edmonton Journal

A Jasper Avenue development nearing completion is poised to expand the supply of two commodities that have seen high demand in recent years downtown — grocery retailing and rental accommodation.

Planet Organic Market plans to move from its current, much-smaller location to a 25,000-square-foot space in the podium of a mixed-use project next door at Jasper Avenue and 122nd Street. The site already houses the flagship branch of Canadian Western Bank.

The organic food retailer plans to open its new store on Jan. 13, according to signs posted at the location.

“We think it will mean a heck of a lot to the residents in the area,” said John Day, a partner in 122nd Street Developments, which owns the building’s podium component. Another company, ICM Realty, owns the project’s 10-storey residential tower.

“It’s the highest density of population in Edmonton,” Day said. “People have been living there for a long time and there’s 207 new suites built above this grocery store. There’s clearly demand for grocery shopping in the immediate vicinity. The Planet Organic store there has traditionally done quite well so when they move out of that store into a big, bright new store, it’s going to be a real upgrade for their customers.”

A recent study by the University of Alberta School of Retailing showed the city’s urban core needs at least four more major grocery stores to serve its growing population. The study identified the area of Jasper Avenue and 118th Street as one neighbourhood lacking a major grocer within easy walking distance.

The residential tower will offer a mix of bachelor, one- and two-bedroom concrete-built apartments to be rented out possibly starting in February by ICM Realty.

Although Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. forecasts the vacancy rate in the Edmonton area to rise from 3.0 per cent in 2015 to 3.5 per cent in 2016 and 3.7 per cent in 2017, Day said the market hasn’t seen a lot of new rental product built.

“I think people are looking for quality,” he said. “People will pay a little bit more for good-quality apartments so we’re not that pessimistic about the apartment market.”

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